After more than 2 weeks traveling around in America, we finally made it to the beaches in the area near Los Angeles

The road trip was great!

By doing a road trip we could see and learn so much of life in the West side of America

But after 2 weeks of driving (I was the only driver) in the desert, mountains and long roads often in No-whereland, I am exhausted

it is wonderful to know that from now on we can stay in one hotel the rest of our stay

Our last week is to see Universal Studios, Beverley Hills, Hollywood

And spending time on the beaches and not to forget shops

before heading back to the Netherlands

Love this idea!

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Highlights and impressions of the road trip:

Vegas ~ definitely a city that never sleeps. Shows, clubs, slot machines are there to keep everyone happy 24 hours a day

Hoover Dam ~ Impressive piece of work to visit on your way to the Grand Canyon

Williams in Arizona ~ small village on the historic Route 66 and fine place to stay overnight before visiting the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon ~ the South Rim has amazing views and definitely is recommend

Laughlin ~ a place where we stayed for the night to see the Colorado river and the Mojave National Preserve

Mojave National Preserve ~ not much to see, other than some cactuses and sand

Death Valley ~ really hot in September but worth to visit

Amargosa ~ where we stayed for the night, if we would have drive a half hour further we would be staying in a greener place

Inyo National Forest

Lake Mono ~ beautiful lake to visit, if you are heading for Yosemite

Yosemite National Park ~ beautiful Park where you should stay overnight. The park is big and beautiful

Montara ~ where we stayed while visiting San Francisco and surroundings, love the beach area south of San Francisco

San Francisco ~ beautiful city with a lot to do (shopping, tours, buildings, Alcatraz, Golden Gate bridge, Cable cars, piers)

Carmel ~ beautiful village with to visit the old Mission and the beach area

Santa Barbara ~ beautiful Mission with a little museum in it

Newbury Park ~ where we stayed for the night before going to the Los Angeles areas

Santa Monica ~ great place to spend the day shopping

Long Beach ~ where we stayed for the night

To visit ~ Universal Studios, Beverley Hills, Hollywood, Shops, beaches, LA

Pictures (please pay a visit to the Gallery on the main page to see all pictures)

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Planning the trip:

We made a list of things we wanted to see during the road trip and made a draft on the direction of the trip. Only the destinations on the start and end date were planned. Everything in between was flexible.

Booking accommodations:

We only planned the first few days in Vegas. The rest of the trip we stayed at places until we were ready to move to another place. We were flexible this way to change destinations or to add destinations on our road trip. Bringing an iPad with us was a good idea to book the accommodations, check on the areas or things to see.

Car:

We drove in a Nissan Pathfinder. It was very comfortable driving in an SUV, especially if you drive such long distances on mountains and in deserts.

Roads:

The roads were not that bad, some even very good. Worse roads were in the mountains to and getting out Yosemite National Park, roads were small and dangerous. It took hours to get up and out of Yosemite, driving on the speed as allowed.

Other (Going to and from Death Valley):

Make sure you fill up your tank especially before going to death valley and from death valley to Yosemite Park. There where gas stations but not as plenty as in other areas. Bring food and some bottles of water with you in the car and drink enough water.  The road to Death Valley and from Death Valley to Yosemite is really a Nowhere-mensland. You will not see many houses or cars driving there.